Fourth day of deconfinement in France, where the lifting of measures continues. After the reopening of more than 400,000 shops, certain beaches and even Lourdes, it is the turn of schools in Paris, Lille and Lyon to return to school this Thursday.
If “the path followed [est] the good one, “” it is too early to declare victory, “Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday at the opening of the Council of Ministers. With 83 additional victims listed on Wednesday, the total toll of the pandemic now exceeds 27,000 victims. Worldwide, the number is 4.3 million contaminations and just under 295,000 deaths.
The main information to remember
> There are 1,800 additional deaths in the United States in 24 hours.
> The number of contaminations is increasing in Germany with 933 more people.
> There were 83 additional victims in France in 24 hours.
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Follow live the events of this Thursday, May 14:
> Over 100 billion state-guaranteed loans
More than 500,000 requests for loans guaranteed by the state have been identified since the launch of the program to support companies affected by the coronavirus pandemic, which represents an amount of nearly 100 billion euros, the Federation announced on Thursday French banking. 90% of requests come from very small companies, particularly in the hotel and catering sector.
> Edouard Philippe details a tourism support plan
The French Prime Minister announced this Thursday an investment plan of 1.3 billion euros for the tourism sector and a series of support measures representing in total “a commitment of more than 18 billion euros for public finances ”.
Opening until the end of the year of the solidarity fund for companies in the sector and enlargement for larger companies, raising the ceiling on loans guaranteed by the State, exemption and credit from social and employer contributions, partial unemployment up to ‘in September and doubling of the ceiling for the use of restaurant tickets:’ If I add up all that I have just indicated, it is a commitment of more than 18 billion euros for public finances, c ‘is unprecedented, it’s massive, it’s necessary,’ he said.
> “The French can go on vacation to France in July and August”
Edouard Philippe made a single reservation this Thursday: “possible very localized restrictions” depending on the evolution of the epidemic. “The French can take their reservations,” encouraged the Prime Minister, stressing that “the players in tourism, the hotel industry, are committed to ensuring that they are fully reimbursed in the event that developments of the epidemic would not make it possible to go on vacation ”.
> State of emergency lifted in most regions of Japan
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced the lifting in most regions of the archipelago of the state of emergency put in place at the beginning of April to fight against the coronavirus pandemic, now in the big cities of Tokyo and Osaka in particular .
“We have decided today to lift the state of emergency in 39 prefectures,” out of the 47 in the country, said the Prime Minister at a press conference. Extended on May 4, the state of emergency was initially to last until the end of May.
> 217 additional deaths in 24 hours in Spain
Spain has registered an additional 217 coronavirus-related deaths in the space of 24 hours, announced the Ministry of Health, which also reports an increase in infections to 229,540 confirmed cases (+849). Since the start of the epidemic, the disease has killed 27,321 people in the country.
> A vaccine against Covid-19 in a year in an “optimistic” scenario
The creation of a vaccine against Covid-19 within a year falls under an “optimistic” scenario on the basis of the tests that are currently being carried out, estimated the European Medicines Agency (EMA). “We can see the possibility if everything goes as planned that some (vaccines) are ready to be approved within a year,” said Marco Cavaleri, director of strategy at EMA during a videoconference.
> Italy: trade surplus up 1.1 billion euros in March
Italy’s trade surplus increased by 1.1 billion euros in March over one year, against the backdrop of a sharp drop in trade due to containment measures against the coronavirus epidemic, announced the National Institute statistics. The trade surplus reached 5.68 billion, against 4.57 in March 2019. Without taking energy into account, it amounted to 7.69 billion euros.
> Green light from the British health authorities for a serological test
The British government has indicated that it wants to rapidly acquire in large quantities a serological test developed by the Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche, which has received the green light from the English health authorities, in the hope of alleviating the confinement decreed at the end of March.
This type of test is used to determine the presence of antibodies in the blood and to determine whether a person has already been infected with the new coronavirus. The question of immunity is, however, debated, the World Health Organization estimating at the end of April that there was “no evidence” that people already infected once and cured are protected against a second infection.
> Private gatherings: Laurent Nuñez calls “to civics” of the French
The Secretary of State to the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, called for “good citizenship” after the Constitutional Council censored the ban on the gatherings of more than ten people in private places.
“It is a rule of common sense, it is a rule of civility. It is up to everyone to take responsibility, to know if they want to be part of the virus’s transmission chain. In any case, we want to break it at all costs, “he said on LCI.
“There is nothing that prohibits these gatherings beyond ten people in private places but after it is good citizenship, it is everyone’s responsibility,” he insisted. “A gathering of fifteen people in a private apartment of the same family would not be responsible. You should be careful […] avoid meeting when these meetings are not necessary, are not essential. “
> The coronavirus weighed on EDF’s turnover
EDF published a slight decline in sales (-1%) for the first quarter of 2020, marked by a drop in demand and its nuclear production linked to the first impacts of the coronavirus, which has for the moment weighed up 247 million euros on group sales.
The public electrician, in which the French State holds 83.6% of the capital, also reiterated in a press release that it had a “solid” liquidity position, of 28.8 billion euros at the end of March 2020 , reinforced by undrawn bank credit lines of 10.3 billion.
> Just under 10,000 new coronaviruses in 24 hours in Russia
The coronavirus epidemic has killed 93 more people in 24 hours in Russia, where 9,974 additional cases of SARS-CoV-2 contamination were recorded by the authorities. This is the lowest progression of the virus in the population since May 2, specifies the crisis unit in its daily report.
In total, since the start of the epidemic, Russia has registered 252,245 infections, of which 2,305 were fatal.
> Unpaid invoices explode
In times of crisis, companies’ cash management is put to the test and the fear of the public authorities of seeing companies withhold their “cash” as a precaution is confirmed. According to a study published by the KPMG firm, the amount of invoices considered as unpaid by companies has almost doubled compared to before the crisis in France.
In total, 3.5 invoices out of 10 had been overdue for more than ten days on April 10 against 1.9 out of 10 before the confinement which started on March 17, according to the study.
> The paradox of falling unemployment
This is undoubtedly one of the most paradoxical effects of the Covid-19 when the pandemic has shut down a large part of the French economy and that nearly 10 million French people are on partial unemployment. According to figures published on Thursday morning by INSEE, the unemployment rate calculated according to the International Labor Office (ILO) fell in the first quarter.
This rate fell by 0.3 points in France, to reach 7.8% of the working population. During this period, France counted 84,000 fewer unemployed people. However, there is no French error or miracle in these figures. It is indeed a “fall in trompe-l’oeil”, explains INSEE.
> Medef for an extension of partial unemployment in France until the summer
Medef president Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux pleaded Thursday for an extension until the summer of the partial unemployment scheme put in place by the government to deal with the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Unfortunately, we do not agree with the government […] The stop or at least the partial redemption of partial unemployment on June 1, it comes too soon, “he said on BFM Business. “We just restarted. […] Cut the device or in any case reduce it to June 1, it is a mistake. We must keep it at least until the summer, and let us prepare for transition and recovery gradually. “
> Sanofi says the United States will not have the first vaccine if the EU is as “effective”
The pharmaceutical giant Sanofi will not distribute as a priority in the United States a possible vaccine against Covid-19 if the European Union is also “effective” to finance its development, said its French official.
“The Americans are effective at this time. The EU must be as effective in helping us to make this vaccine available very quickly, ”declared Sanofi France president Olivier Bogillot on BFMTV.
> Insurance: coronavirus to cost Lloyd’s of London up to $ 4.3 billion
The Lloyd’s of London insurance market plans to pay up to $ 4.3 billion in compensation to customers hit by the coronavirus pandemic, as much as it was for the September 11 attacks. The insurer indicates that this amount could increase if the confinements continue for several months.
> Covid-19 vaccine: “unacceptable” for Sanofi to first serve the United States
It would be “unacceptable” for the pharmaceutical group Sanofi to serve the United States as a priority if it finds a vaccine against Covid-19, as its boss said on Wednesday, said Secretary of State for Economy Agnès Pannier. -Runacher. “For us, it would be unacceptable for there to be privileged access from such and such a country under a pretext which would be a pecuniary pretext,” she declared on Sud Radio.
The director general of Sanofi had declared that the American government will have “the right to the biggest pre-orders”, because of its taking of “risk” in the search for a vaccine.
> Deconfinement: 37% of public transport users sure of taking it back
Only 37% of public transport users are sure to take them back during the deconfinement period, while 23% want to find an alternative mode of transport, according to a CSA survey.
23% are thinking of alternating between public transport and other modes, while 17% remain puzzled, according to this online survey, on the initiative of the institute, from May 7 to 11, with a representative national sample of 2.001 adults. More than half (54%) of those who plan to continue using public transport are afraid of their stomachs: 20% are very apprehensive, 34% somewhat, and 24% a little.
> A second wave of schoolchildren back in class
A second wave of schoolchildren resumes school this Thursday, particularly in Ile-de-France, a region among the most affected by the coronavirus epidemic.
Hand washing, supervised recreation and direction of circulation in the corridors: the sanitary protocol remains strict. It is also out of the question to welcome everyone. As for the first wave on Tuesday, the return to the school benches is done in small groups.
> A “trompe-l’oeil” drop in the unemployment rate in the first quarter
The unemployment rate in France decreased by 0.3 point in the first quarter to 7.8%, a “fall in trompe-l’oeil” due to the confinement of the second half of March, said Thursday INSEE “without let it reflect an improvement in the labor market. ”
“This drop in the unemployment rate is the result of a sharp drop in the number of unemployed people declaring themselves available or actively looking for work during the confinement period,” said INSEE in its press release.
> Restaurants must reinvent themselves
If no official reopening date for table service has been set, the possibility of everyone to move freely again within the limit of 100 kilometers and the gradual return of employees to companies encourage establishments to restart their activity.
Two months later, from the small neighborhood restaurant to the gastronomic table, initiatives are multiplying to set off again despite the difficult context, deciphers our journalist Clotilde Briard.
> Nearly 600,000 Australians have lost their jobs
Nearly 600,000 Australians lost their jobs in April because of measures taken to fight the coronavirus, the highest number in more than 40 years, according to data released Thursday.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that 100,000 people have applied for unemployment benefits while 500,000 have left the workforce. Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the figures “extremely shocking”, with ABS estimating that when totaling underemployment and unemployment reached the record level of 19.9% in April.
> French industry is losing ground
The nightmare of the country’s industrialists is gradually materializing: the coronavirus crisis and the associated confinement have made them lose ground over their European competitors, according to the satellite photo issued by the recovery index “Kayrros-EY Consulting” created for “Les Echos”.
Only Italy has seen its heavy industry plunge more than France. Already first in class on the Old Continent in industrial matters, Germany is going through the crisis with the least damage.
> In Wisconsin, Justice Cancels Extension of Containment
The Wisconsin Supreme Court, following a request from Republican parliamentarians, quashed the Democratic Administration’s decision in the northern US state to extend the confinement against the coronavirus.
The Republicans, for whom the priority is the revival of the state’s economy, had challenged before the Supreme Court the extension decided by the administration of Democratic Governor Tony Evers. By four votes to three, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the extension by health secretary Andrea Palm was “illegal, invalid and unenforceable”.
> Vatican finances damaged by pandemic
The Vatican is sinking deeper and deeper into the red, struck by the coronavirus pandemic which deprives it of the revenues of its famous museums and prevents it from organizing its large donation collections. “We are certainly approaching difficult years”, predicts Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, who has been directing the Secretariat for the Economy of the Holy See since January.
The annual deficit of the Holy See (the pope’s services), has generally fluctuated between 60 and 70 million euros for four years, he specifies. But this hole, already considered critical before the pandemic, should widen. However “the Vatican does not risk bankruptcy” and should not be compared to “a business” intended for profit, insists the Spanish Jesuit father on the Vatican portal.
> Tokyo lifts state of emergency in much of Japan
The Japanese government announced the end of the state of emergency in a large part of the country, a month after its introduction. However, the capital Tokyo remains subject to restrictions designed to stem the epidemic.
Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said the government’s proposal to end the state of emergency in 39 of the 47 Japanese prefectures had been accepted by a panel of experts. Together, these 39 prefectures represent 54% of the country’s population. Some 16,100 cases of coronavirus contamination have been confirmed in Japan, including 696 fatal cases.
Washington accuses Beijing of trying to hack a vaccine
The coronavirus has further damaged relations between the United States and Beijing. Already accusing China of having hidden information concerning the epidemic, the American authorities accuse Chinese hackers this time of trying to seize researches concerning the development of a vaccine against Covid-19.
These efforts could jeopardize the progress made in recent weeks in the race for a vaccine. Beijing and Tehran, also accused, have yet to respond to the new charges. The Chinese Embassy in Washington, however, has already denounced “lies”.
> Trump disagrees with health advisor on reopening schools
The US president on Wednesday expressed his disagreement with his advisor on the coronavirus crisis, infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, about the reopening of schools in the country.
In front of elected Senate on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci had warned against the potentially very serious consequences of an overly hasty reopening of the country. He had, on this occasion, explained that a vaccine would in all likelihood not be available on the usual date of resumption of classes. “I was surprised by his response,” said Donald Trump to reporters at the White House on Wednesday. “For me, this is not an acceptable answer, especially concerning schools. “
> 1,800 additional deaths in 24 hours in the United States
The United States has recorded precisely 1,813 deaths from coronavirus in 24 hours. A figure stable compared to the previous day, according to the count of Johns Hopkins University, which refers.
These additional deaths bring the total toll of the pandemic in the country to more than 84,000 dead. The United States also has nearly 1.39 million officially diagnosed cases (+22,000 in 24 hours).
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